AB0229 TREAT TO TARGET IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS DID NOT SHOW RACIAL DIFFERENCES: COHORT REAL STUDY
Authors: N. De Carvalho Sacilotto, R. Giorgi, A. B. Vargas-Santos, C. Albuquerque, S. Radominski, I. Pereira, M. F. Guimarães, M. Bertolo, P. Louzada, M. D. F. Sauma, K. Bonfiglioli, C. Brenol, L. Mota, G. Da Rocha Castelar Pinheiro
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2023)

<h3>Background</h3> Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is defined as a systemic autoimmune pathology associated with a chronic inflammatory process, which can damage joints and extra-articular organs. The target of therapy is to obtain remission and to reduce side effects [1]. <h3>Objectives</h3> Analyze racial differences in the context of RA, from an epidemiological, disease activity, diagnosis and treatment standpoint. <h3>Methods</h3> This work is part of a Brazilian multicentric study called REAL-Rheumatoid Arthritis in Real Life in Brazil, which is a prospective observational cohort study of patients with RA from 11 public healthcare centers in different geographic regions of Brazil that are specialized in RA management. For the present article, a cross-sectional cohort was analyzed (2), which included 754 patients who classified themselves as caucasian or Afro-Latin Americans. Others ethnicities were excluded. <h3>Results</h3> We enrolled 754 patients, 83.8% were caucasians and 16.2% were Afro-Latin Americans. In the caucasians group 88.4% were female and in the Afro-Latin Americans group 92.6% were female. The mean age was 63.4 years in the caucasians group versus 61.7 years in the Afro-Latin Americans (p = 0.137). The mean years of schooling was 8.28 among caucasians and 7.87 among Afro-Latin Americans (p = 0.341). There was no statistically significative difference in relation to social class between the groups (p = 0.266). 55.5% among the caucasians and 56.7% among the Afro-Latin Americans had erosive disease (p = 0.822). The average time between beginning of symptoms and diagnosis in the caucasians group were 28.1 months and in the Afro-Latin Americans were 33.3 months (p = 0.123), the average time between beginning of symptoms and beginning of treatment were 33.1 months among the caucasians and 42.2 months among the Afro-Latin Americans (p = 0.115). The CDAI mean in the caucasians group was 11.8 and in the Afro-Latin Americans group was 13.7 (p = 0.179). The following tests were applied: SF-12 (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12), presenting an average in the physical component of 36.7 among the caucasians and of 36 among the Afro-Latin Americans (p=0.253) and in the mental component of 44.4 and 48.4 respectively (p&lt; 0.001); SF-6D (Short-Form 6 Dimensions – Brazil), that verified a mean of 0.373 between the caucasians and 0.357 between the Afro-Latin Americans (p=0.292). Current medications in use were described in Table 1. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Health disparity has multiple consequences and represent differences in health outcomes between different ethnicities, for example. Working toward health equity in society is fundamental to provide excelente care for all groups, as demonstrated in our study, which did not evidenced statisticallt significant diferences in most of the characteristics of RA between caucasians and Afro-Latin Americans, this may demonstrate that there is no difference between diagnosis, indications and disease control betwee races. It is important to highlight that Brazil is a country with a racial multiplicity that can be a limiting factor for this type of analysis and the lack of undestanding of the epidemiology of RA by race and ethinicity limits our understanding about the disease. <h3>References</h3> [1] Radu, A-F, Bungau SG. Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Overview. Cells. 2021 23;10(11):2857. [2] Castelar-Pinheiro GR, Vargas-Santos AB, Albuquerque CP, et al. The "REAL" Study: A Nationwide Prospective Study of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Brazil. Adv Rheumatol. 2018;58(9). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42358-018-0017-9 <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> NIL. <h3>Disclosure of Interests</h3> None Declared.